Compatibility study of high density polyethylene grade 80 gas pipe with synthetic polyglycol-based brake oil

Abstract

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is one attractive technical option for the transportation and distribution of natural gas and hydrocarbons given the advantages in long-term mechanical strength, lifespan, maintenance costs and resistance to chemical aging. This study investigates the compatibility of extruded pipe material from copolymerized HDPE-80 with DOT 3 brake fluid. Machined standard specimens from inner (IL) and outer (OL) pipe layers are aged in commercial synthetic polyglycol-based oil for 7 days at laboratory conditions. The percent mass changes are +2.2% and +1.9% respectively for IL and OL pipe surfaces. These results are in the same range of published sorption data for other oils and fuels. Stress-strain parameters (E, σ y, σ CD, σ f, ε y, Δ ε CD, ε f) and fracture work are established and thoroughly discussed for both pipe sides. For IL, the reduction of E, σ y and ε f are respectively 28.0%, 13.9% and 22.7%, while for OL they are 22.6%, 7.7% and 25.1%. Globally, it is concluded that strength properties degradation in DOT 3 oil is more important for IL compared to OL. There is an important loss of ductility for both pipe sides. Ageing caused IL crystallinity ( Xc) to increase while OL showed inverse results probably because of frozen anti-oxidants in the outer surface layers following water quenching during extrusion. Before and after ageing, the as-received OL is found to be more resilient to oxidation than corresponding IL, as higher OIT parameters are also shown in the case of crude oil compatibility investigations. DOT 3 brake oil seem to accelerate the degradation of HDPE-80 thermal stability with a higher intensity for IL.